our {elf} is back!

The kiddos were so excited this morning when they realized that Pickle, our Elf on the Shelf, had returned! We don't do much with Santa in our house but we do love our elf! (Yeah, doesn't make sense... it has just kind of worked out that way!) This year I was inspired after I saw this pin on Pinterest and I decided to have Pickle help us focus on Jesus this year. Instead of watching to make sure the kids are naughty and nice, Pickle is here to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas and will be leaving a note complimenting the kiddos on Christlike behavior.

Last year we found the idea of doing an activity as a family every evening as we count down to Christmas day. We enjoyed it and decided this year to let Pickle be in on the fun. In his nightly note he will give us a little "challenge" for the day. Tonight it is to read the nativity story in the Bible. Some other challenges will be making cookies for a neighbor, making a card for the mail carrier/trash pick-up man etc., driving around to see Christmas lights, etc.

Here are a few pics from Pickle's reappearance this morning. He was sitting on one of the chairs in my stairway.

Welcome back, Pickle!